The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Studies by sociologists and political anthropologists across Asia, Africa, Latin America and even pre-industrial Europe show that voters do not see politicians who “bribe” them as acting wrongly. Indeed, in poor communities, the rich legitimise their wealth by exaggerated demonstrations of generosity. A leader who is not generous loses legitimacy. And giving is not only done during elections. Once elected, politicians are inundated with requests for personal assistance from their constituents – to meet burial expenses, pay medical and education bills, and transport costs, etc.
This thesis has powerful implications on “governance.” How do politicians meet these demands of their voters? Their personal income is insufficient to pay for them, so they must have alternative sources of income; hence corruption. Therefore, the more democratic competition a poor country has, the more corrupt its politicians will be. Simon Denyer’s book, `Rogue Elephant; Harnessing the Power of India’s Unruly Democracy’ is a classic statement of this problem.
In a poor country, because delivering public goods and services to all citizens is not affordable, it is cheaper to win the hearts of voters with gifts of rice, meat, salt, and soap.
This incentive structure works in reverse in rich countries. Imagine Norway, where the income of the median voter is about $73,000. Here the voter has a decent job, lives in a nice apartment with all modern appliances – a refrigerator, a washing machine, a drier, television, cooker, running water, electricity, a car, etc. If he was to accept the indignity of selling his vote, he may ask for half a million dollars. If one has to bribe 20,000 voters in a constituency, it would cost $10 billion. This makes voter bribery unaffordable.
Hence politicians in rich countries do better by campaigning on the platform of service delivery because the state can deliver that, given its high public spending per person. And because their voters are well off they don’t need personal favours from individual politicians. These can be affordably paid through the state.
Politicians in poor countries face impoverished voters who demand the aforementioned small favours. These can be paid for from the pocket of a politician better if they have access to unofficial income to pay; hence corruption.
The state is too poor to pay for universal access to public goods and services, even if politicians genuinely desired to. Therefore, it does better by allowing elites to steal public funds and bribe voters. That is the context in which we must wonder how Rwanda, a very poor country, has good service delivery. My cousin, Jude Kagoro, a professor at Bremen University, calls Rwanda’s political leaders magicians. He is right.
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amwenda@independent.co.ug
Rwasubutare, have you noticed how the word MEDIAN has been smuggled into the narrative, a word previously unused, and a word/ term I tried to bring to your attention last week on the 8/9 th.
NOW we are talking
My laptop,like its owner, is aging and was till yesterday in ‘hospital’. Like you aptly observe, M9 is again at it with his generalities. When he says ‘the median voter’ he wants readers and other any other gullibles to believe that the votes ‘reported’ are votes ‘cast’ as though there was no rigging…. as the learned judges have come to call it ‘insufficient to change the overall results’. M9 reminds of a legend(we used to be told in childhood) about a mukonjo and his wife and baby child who were coming from a wedding on a certain evening. When they were crossing Nyamwamba river at a known point where it was gentlest, the woman gave the man the child to hold in the hands and help cross with it. The man on account of having taken a gourd of tonto too many forgot to cross tactfully and a wave sent him sprawling separating him from the child…. He however managed to salvage baby strap (sheep skin) but the merciless river flowed on with the baby. The man and wife went home sad for the loss of their child but absorbed the shock because that same night, Nyamwamba killed other people. What is ironic is that the mukonzho was heard at another beer party narrating” if I had not been swift and tactful, even the baby strap would have gone”. That is exactly like my Mwenda…who I don’t blame much because he does not know our ‘those days’ term of VW beetle “kill the driver but save the engine” It amazes me how M9 and Winnie understand each other so well like twins…because they are made of same ‘these days material’ methinks. When I reflect, I look back and wonder why these young men a la Mwenda and Winnie behave exactly like another group I saw in the mid-Amin-era period of 1975 to 76 who improvised,rebranded and renamed things in order to make them acceptable.
For example, we saw with our eyes tetron suiting fabric renamed tetrex and so displayed. After a some time we accepted it as so because the sellers were insistent. With time, tireless Mwenda will eventually convert many to his thinking (or is it manipulation) like the ancient Cicero whose oratory Mwenda might even surpass. The reason we are resistant to his ‘alternative facts’ is because some of us are immunised by timeless facts of those wonderful days when quality was quality.
Honoring Men-in-Uniform is a Pre-requisite to Modernity
By Dan Morris Tumusiime
Dykema Gossett PLLC, which is among the Top 5 Law Firms in Michigan, USA,was my legal representative for my political Asylum case of 2008 – 2012.So, I would often travel by public bus and train from Freedom House, the refugee shelter on Lafayette Boulevard in Detroit city to Dykema offices in Ann Arbor city. As a researcher, I surely enjoyed those bus & train cultural-shock journeys through the many States I toured.
Now, Americans worship Men-in-Uniform! Men-in-Uniform is a term for men and women who serve in the military and police.
When one or more of these men enter into a bus that is already full and are supposed to travel standing, the seated civilians literally feel pride as they stampede to offer seats to them.Such gestures of honor are a common sight in the cultural fabric of most developed countries, especially the US.
At first, this bus stampede scene appeared weird to me until when I enquired from one of the Samaritans. While explaining, a young lady said, “What on earth can you offer to show honor and gratitude to someone who daily risks his/her life for you and your country?” She added, “apart from my life and my peace, I know that the wealth and the superiority our nation has over the world are entirely built by these guys.”
Later when I moved out of the black dominated Detroit to reside in the countryside dominated by whites; I also discovered this Men-in-Uniform glorification in restaurants and other social centers. In fact, most restaurants and bars offer 30% discount to Men-in-Uniform including the veterans.
Most interesting is the special favor employers (both private and government) give to applicants who have ever served in the military. Many times I witnessed fellows who just had average qualifications but out-competed the better qualified civilians simply because they had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. This entire honor and worship isn’t a law but a culture.
I had married a white lady whose father and grandfather had served in the US military. My ex-in-laws were very friendly and my ex-mother-in-law had a special sense of humor. She loved me more when she learnt that I was an artist and had also coordinated an armed rebellion in Africa…so, we would chat a lot together.
“Why did you marry the soldier in Mike?” Mike was her husband.
“If he can be trusted to protect a nation, he can probably protect me,” she answered,
Psychologists think that women descend towards men-in-uniform because their uniforms denote purpose, bravery and commitment. Personally I think that soldiers are the modern-day knights in shining armor, able to face all danger and deal with life’s troubles, leaving ladies to feel like the fairytale “damsels in distress.”
As a boys scout during my secondary school in Rukungiri district, we encountered many NRA soldiers, we would often imitate them and try to assimilate in all manner and style, yet we weren’t ladies. That was then when the liberation pride was still fresh. This something special about men-in-uniform is vanishing in Uganda primarily because we have either forgotten or are unacquainted with the NRA/UPDF continued contribution to our peace and development.
It is said that after the American Revolution through 1800s and 1900s, it was on vogue for women to date soldiers and policemen. I had never thought about it too much until recently when I drafted the Seven-Points for the Mindset Revolution and I chose to make “honoring men-in-uniform” the number-one-point before honoring God or Jesus whom majority have never encountered or simply don’t believe.
Some peers have tried to rebuff this point until I explain how psychologists affirm that “if you give respect to someone, soon that person will respect himself also.”
After all, Uganda is increasingly trusting to channel important development projects through the military for no other reasons but discipline, loyalty and allegiance which are vital values in reducing corruption. History places catholic fathers and nuns behind soldiers in terms of dependability and allegiance.
It takes a whole militia to annoy me. Recently however, just one bodaboda young man [motorcyclist,] triggered the dead nerve. It all happened on the Mawanda road junction near Mulago. I was walking along as I usually do when an exhausted traffic police officer signaled to the young man to stop but instead this sh*thole with all dishonor intentionally rammed into the helpless officer not once but twice before speeding off the scene amidst cheers from fellows.
Volunteer researchers of my kind don’t have money but I thought I had to offer five thousand shillings to this police officer for both his therapy and my therapy too, because, my eyes had turned red after seeing that scene.
Related to this incident, I pray that our nation develops faster to a level where we can afford every traffic police officer a pistol in addition to an electronic pocket-garget that has all data of every Ugandan ID, the one we call “endangamuntu,” Amen.
Dan Morris Tumusiime is a researcher, artist & security expert at Cube Nine Ltd.
1.Of recent Africa has seen 2 presidents resign; what does this say about M7 who has been a president for over 30 years?you will note that Zuma and Desalegn were sent by their political parties thats why it was easy to hold them at randsome by party supporters while M7 is having a field day as a leader because no one sent him to liberate Uganda perhaps M7’s style of Mgt would perfectly suite Africa.
2.The suppliers of traffic lights seem to have overstocked them i mean who installs traffic lights after humps and Zebra crossings?really were traffics necessary at Lugogo?
It is very interesting to see how people’s attitudes on politics change overtime. For some of us who have been following Andrew from the early days at the monitor, wonder what is it that makes a man change his outlook on politics. To argue that the fundamental reason for Africa’s misery is poverty or lack of resources while at the same time showcase Rwanda ‘s tremendous achievements with the least resources is self defeating. Africa’s problem is not “poverty”, it is bad governance period.
FASHIONABLE NONSENSE here is when people try to defend the INDEFENSIBLE and try to dabble in things that they do not really comprehend. People have this feeling that as long as they can tap a few keys on the keyboard, put a few words together into some sort of a sentence, then what they are saying is SENSE.
UNFORTUNATELY it is not the case. As has been said before, we tend to think that if we state an untruth several times, it will become FACT.
MWENDA has tried this over and over, and I do not know how much success he is achieving. I have told him on more than one occasion to keep clear of figures/statistics because he does not understand the subject, which of course is not a crime.HE has been caught out on his “alternative facts” as happened in his last article where he tried to say things about the USA that he had absolutely no clue about.
BUT because it is/has become FASHIONABLE
M9 subscribes to ‘man-eat-man’ school of thought. The politicians request for votes with polite bows but with secret malevolence in their hearts. The bribes are just baits with which they lure the helpless voter in order to get the opportunity to attain the ultimate goal of power. With power they get much. I personally wouldn’t have any quarrel with that if it helps them to lead opulent lifestyles and other excesses which are despicable to cultured folk. My and everyone else’s concern is when they (i)stupidly start to damage the environment in cahoot with foreigners (ii) mortgage the future of the whole nation including the yet-to-be-born by incurring unnecessary debts (iii)neglecting youth and unwittingly creating a criminal society a la kifeesi and others (iv)neglecting public health giving rise to occasional epidemics outbreak (v)underpaying professionals leading to brain drain (vi)condoning and abetting corruption leading to inculcating theft as a habit (vii) failure to be proactive but only reacting when crime has spiraled out of control. (viii) being irresponsible,heedless,inattentive and negligent yet you are in-charge. These and many other shortcomings are not excusable at all despite M9’s moving in circles of ‘less resources vs big population’ equation instead of him digging deeper to explore the said resources’ mismanagement by handlers a la Kazinda. Does Mwenda know why when he was in school they had 3 streams per class? to manage effectively. If these guys and their women cannot govern effectively, it is because the class is too big, then devolve. But this will eliminate the quagmire and labyrinth in which it becomes easier to steal. No wonder, when you talk of federo, they rise in arms and shout crucify. There is enough resources and to spare. It is the management aka governance which is defective. Like I have said and say even now, you don’t have to industrialize Uganda. Agriculture and the good God-given climate, Uganda can feed all neighbours and export all sorts of produce to far-off lands. Uganda Agriculture can be locally developed and will solely feed the Middle East and earn ten times than polluting the lake and countryside mbu oil extraction; which oil they (knowledgeable people) are saying its (speculated)accruals are already half eaten.
With deep sorrow, I announce the death of Frank Kato Kasule which happened on the 16/02/2018 at Nsambya Hospital after being hit by a speeding bodaboda along the Kampala- Masaka highway. He was the chairman school management committee at my school and also a teacher at Buddo Junior school where he has been teaching since 1984. It was with respect that we worked with him here at Loving Hands until his unfortunate death. May he rest in internal peace.
We all join you brother Kakyama in your sorrow over the departure of that wonderful educator. Those men and women are invaluable (as is their labour) and we sadly look on as they leave us as per their (and our) Owner’s summons;knowing however that we shall rejoin them when our own summons comes.
This gives us one important and essential lesson,which anyone dismisses at own risk, is that we must always be at peace with Our Maker and with each other if we want a better future(in the hereafter) than our present slaving lifestyle. Educators are the glue that bound the learned. If it were not for them, we would each still be in their local environment, suspicious,fearful and isolated from each other. They are the special group (followed but not closely by medics and soldier) who humanity is eternally indebted. May he rest in eternal peace.